RUD is always there whenever loads need to be lifted and lashed safely and securely. Last year (2014) saw the company launch a whole range of new products at different international trade fairs, such as CeMAT in Hanover, Bauma in Shanghai and OSEA in Singapore. Rud’s innovations:
ICE LBG SR, the popular threaded lifting point with asymmetrical force application, VLBG type and with a patented dual ball bearing. “SR” in its name stands for Super Rotation, i.e. the unique feature that allows loads to be rotated even at maximum capacity. This comes into its own if you want to turn, tip or rotate loads, operations which are vital in day-to-day load handling. Conventional threaded lashing points without ball bearings are subject to intense steel-on-steel friction, which untwists bolts and thereby drastically reduces safety levels. The challenge RUD had to solve was this: no changes to size were permitted, as these elements are documented in thousands of different diagrams. Double ball bearings are essential in order to facilitate rotation in every direction, and this required the use of special materials, designs and metal treatments. Of key importance is the use of a very special type of screw. This neatly brings us to the second item on RUD’s list of international premiers, the ICE bolt.
Mike Lim,Director of RUD Singapore；ReinhardSmetz, Head of Department, Renate Knoblauch, Export Sales and David C. Jaramillo Aguirre, Manager Business Development Marine & Offshore Solutions, Sling and Lashing System of RUD Ketten; Phill Broadhurst, National Product Manager of Lifting Equipment Sales and Stuart Nolan, National Product Manager of Lifting Equipment, RUD Australia
ICE is the new generation of RUD chains with quality grade 120. RUD uses patented fine-grain steel to create products that can safely cope with loads up to 30% higher than grade 100 chains and up to 60% higher than grade 80 chains. This steel possesses unbelievable physical properties, such as notched impact strength of 56 joule at -60°C, and it is also used for all threaded lashing points. This enabled RUD to substantially increase safety and load-bearing without the familiar risk of hydrogen embrittlement that plagues hard-grade steels.
This ICE steel was also used for RUD’s third new product, the “ICE mini” chain. It is the smallest lifting chain with the highest lifting capacity: a single strand 4 mm thick can lift loads of up to 800 kg, and 2 strands can lift up to 1120 kg. This means that common everyday loads of approx. 1 t can be lifted safely, quickly and easily.
Reinhard Smetz show the LRW team how RUD’s load ring for welding is working
RUD has prepared yet another innovation for heavy loads in the oil and gas sector. RUD is the world’s leading name in lifting points thanks to the company’s extensive range of products. RUD’s catalogue of weldable components is now even larger, thanks to the inclusion of the 50 t and 100 t versions of VRBS-FIX. These feature a drop-forged ring tab tempered for high strength, with swinging captive connection in two welding blocks, and which is capable of sustaining loads in every direction with four times safety factor. RUD has displayed a host of models that were all greeted enthusiastically by professionals at trade fairs. The patented solution has the advantage over older versions that it no longer has any exposed surfaces, which makes it necessary to have a continuous, smaller weld seam and at the same time prevents dreaded rust penetration. The FIX version firmly holds the ring in every position and so eliminates all noise. Another upshot is that the welding blocks are precisely the right distance from the welding block and cannot be welded into an incorrect position.
“For the future, we go on to develop smart solutions for our worldwide customers, always being in a class of one’s own”. Reinhard Smetz, Head of Department, Sling and Lashing Systems, RUD Ketten.
This article is published on LRW Magazine vol20, 2015.
